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[Review] Jennifer Campbell’s Bruised

Chris Savage February 12, 2014

In this day and age, we are unfortunately inundated with remakes, but it’s nothing new. Remakes have been a part of the genre since as far back as I can remember, but with so many remakes in such a short period of time I often hear people questioning, “Where’s the originality? Where’s the creativity?” It is slim pickings if you just follow what is being shown in nationwide theatres, but delve a little deeper and I promise you that originality is far from dead.

That brings me the up and coming writer/director, Jennifer Campbell, who is quickly making a name for herself within the indie by delivering some truly masterful shorts. Seriously, this girl has some talent and even though she has just two shorts under her name (Bruised and Hike), they’re as professional as they come.

So here we go. I was lucky enough to witness Campbell’s latest short Bruised, and it’s an excellent commentary on the working class. It is truly powerful, deep and meaningful and while it is horror, I can see that many people will truly relate to this one.

The film stars Briana Rayner as Amelia, a single woman just basically trying to survive the struggles of everyday life. Her cleaning business is unfortunately in dire-straits and debt collector’s are constantly breathing down her neck to get their money.

On top of her financial issues, Ameilia, develops an injury which causes her chronic pain which only seems to worsen as the days go on. Unfortunately for Amelia, like many people, the cost of medical treatment is basically out the window. So, she fights through the pain as best she can, but she can only take so much.

Soon she realizes that enough is enough, and before you know it, Ameila is researching how to perform surgery on herself, and it is truly harrowing. Rayner’s performance is absolutely brilliant. Yet it is heartbreaking to watch this poor woman who works so hard to get so little in return and it really hits home.

Campbell has truly crafted something that needs to be seen. The film is shot in such a way as we appear to be creeping into Amelia’s life, like a fly on the wall and it really comes together so well. Watching this you would think that Campbell has been making films for years, it is really that well put together and thought out.

Watching this short it makes me feel how lucky I am to live in the UK, as we have the NHS, and even though I hear people moan about the system, it really is a godsend to not have to worry about medical treatment and I really full sorry for those of you who have to live through such agony, like Amelia, who just cannot afford the treatment. And I thank Campbell for bringing this into the light once again, it truly is a masterful piece of work.

So what happens to Amelia? Well guys, you will just have to hunt this one out once it hits the festival circuit and I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. I see big things for Jennifer Campbell, and I can’t wait to see Briana Rayner in more roles as she nailed this sucker and I urge you to keep your eyes peeled too.

Really great review! One of the things I love about this site is the diversity of the contributors. Where else on other big horror sites could you find reviewers talking about social class and other topics in such a way? And where else could you find such a rich source for more non-commercial films from up and coming directors? It’s all because of one reason: horror-movies.ca is driven by real fans and real people. Not rich critics or snobbish scholars.